The present invention relates generally to the field of agricultural fertilizer hoppers, and, more specifically, to a new hopper which may be of the free-standing type or supported on some other equipment, and which includes structure for "conditioning" the fertilizer ingredients to enhance blending, packaging and use.
Typically, agricultural fertilizers consist of a combination of different ingredients, such as lime, nitrates and various fillers, for example, which ingredients are often in powdered or granular form. At the manufacturing facility various ratios of the different ingredients are mixed prior to shipping, often in quantities ranging up to tons. Ultimately, the fertilizer is made available to the consumer either in truck loads, or optionally in packages of, for example, one hundred pounds. The particular blend of ingredients will of course vary with the intended use and will be affected by such variables as the type of crop for which it will be applied, the soil conditions of the general geographic area, and the specific field upon which it will be introduced.
In preparation of the particular fertilizer chemical ratio, it is common practice for the manufacturer to prepare large batches by mixing known quantities of the substances in a rolling drum-type blender or a vertical blender and then transferring the mixed fertilizer via an elevator-type conveyor to a truck or other large containment device for transport directly to the field or to a retail or other facility.
To control and measure the specific quantities of ingredients being mixed, the different ingredients are placed into a bin, often provided with a scale for determining the weights of the ingredients being added to the mixture. Alternatively, ingredients may be measured by volume.
A well known problem in such operations is the tendency of fertilizer chemical ingredients to clump and clog machinery, which results in increased blend time, increased man-power to free the machinery and control mixing, and thus increased costs. This is especially known to happen when bulk quantities of fertilizer or individual fertilizer ingredients are stored from one season to the next. During the storage time the substances tend to accumulate moisture and to form agglomerates which cause clumping. The problem of ingredient clumping may even cause the end product to have an unintended ratio of ingredients, resulting in altered product effectiveness.
Thus, it is desirable to "condition" the various chemicals and other ingredients of the fertilizer in order to break up the clumps and more or less homogenize the physical character of each particular ingredient so that it may be more thoroughly and accurately blended with each of the other pre-treated (conditioned) substances.
Accordingly, in an attempt to address the above concerns, it is an object of the present invention to provide an agricultural fertilizer hopper which conditions substances prior to their introduction as fertilizer ingredients into a mixing device.
It is further among the several objects of the invention having the features indicated to provide a conditioning fertilizer hopper which is of relatively uncomplicated structure and thus which is facile and economical to manufacture as well as being suitable for adaptation into different convenient embodiments.
It is also among the objects of the present invention having the above features to provide a fertilizer hopper which can be used by an operator with little or no additional training beyond any which is already required for fertilizer blending operations.
Accordingly, in furtherance of the above objects, the present invention is, briefly, an agricultural hopper having conditioning structure therein including a mechanical agitator movably mounted within the hopper, and structure for permitting flow-through of material which is of sufficiently small size within the hopper to completely bypass the mechanical agitation means, to thereby greatly facilitate the rate of flow-through.
The present invention is also, briefly, a hopper which conditions material placed therein prior to transfer of the material to a mixer, the hopper includes a bin into which material to be conditioned is placed. The bin has downwardly sloping walls with lower edges and upper edges and which extend continuously therebetween. The walls terminate at the lower edges thereof slightly apart so as to define an opening for material exit at the bottom of the bin. The hopper includes structure for supporting the bin spacedly above a support surface therefor and for churning material to be conditioned which is placed in the bin. The structure for churning is movably mounted within the bin spacedly above the opening for material exit. The hopper also includes conditioning structure mounted within the bin spacedly in relation to the churning structure so as to cause conditioning of material placed into the bin at least before such material comes into contact with the churning structure, whereby the material placed into the hopper is conditioned prior to transfer to a mixer where it is mixed with other materials to enhance homogeneity of the resulting mixture.
The new hopper also has briefly, structure for conditioning material placed into the hopper, including a rigid trough penetrated by a plurality of apertures and mounted within the bin longitudinally adjacent to and beneath the auger so that as the auger rotates and churns material within the bin large chunks of material are forced against the trough, to thereby grind and crush the chunks of material into particles sufficiently small to pass through the apertures in the trough, after which the small particles of material exit through the hopper opening.